NatWest customers across the UK are continuing to lose more access to in-person banking as the high street bank proceeds with its plans to close a significant number of their branches across the nation. As part of its plans, Brits are set to lose six more branches from next week (September 29 to October 5), meaning a total of 26 branches will have been removed from high streets by the end of this month. A further 20 are set to close in October.
The mass closures comes from the blow that has hit UK high streets. In recent years, consumer spending and footfall has slipped — massively impacting fashion retailers and supermarkets, and a shift in cosumer behaviour, where more people are opting for digital banking services has led to the downfall of various banks.
When closures were announced earlier this year, NatWest said: “Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before – over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97% of retail accounts with us are now opened online.
“Like any business, we strive to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations and we’ve been responding to the industry-wide shift towards digital services by investing to broaden what customers can do themselves and to offer them greater personalisation.
“We are also significantly investing in refreshing our network – we expect to invest in excess of £20m in our network across the UK in 2025 to improve customer service, enhance the look and feel of our branches, and reduce the environmental impact of our buildings, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like the Post Office and Banking Hubs.”
The lender has Community Hubs set up in specific locations that have been impacted by branch closures. It also offers Mobile Branches that visit specific areas up to five days a week throughout the year.
